Unknown dinosaur species appears stunted tyrannosaurus rex | NOW

The skeletons of supposedly undiscovered dinosaur species appear to originate from not yet fully grown specimens of the tyrannosaurus rex. American paleontologists write that in the scientific journal Science Advances.

A dinosaur skeleton was discovered in 1988 and classified as the “nanotyrannus” species. More than ten years later, paleontologists dug up two new skeletons, “Jane” and “Petey,” which were also included in this nanotyrannus.

New research, however, shows that this species is not: the two skeletons the size of a horse are both not yet fully grown tyrannosaurus rex.

Researchers were able to find out by analyzing the structure of the bones, so that they saw that they were still in a growth phase. Dinosaur bones have a texture that is comparable to the annual rings of a tree, which allowed paleontologists to find out how old the animal had become. This shows that Jane and Petey were thirteen and fifteen years old respectively.

The find shows, according to paleontologists, that the tyrannosaurus rex is experiencing a considerable growth spurt, as well as major external changes. The young variants of the dinosaur are light-footed and slender, after which they turn into the well-known twelve-meter animal.

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